2 (formerly 3) grown ups sharing a kitchen in inner city Melbourne. Both determined to eat very well for under $10/meal each. A place to share recipes, stories and cooking tips and, of course, to convert "meal in a box" believers and takeout food regulars

Monday, August 15, 2011

Belacan Fried Chicken 馬來盞炸雞 - "Malaysian Monday 50"

They might look like just another batch of ordinary fried chicken but in fact they are anything but ordinary.

This is a relatively new dish that is rather similar to the popular har jeong kei (蝦醬雞, shrimp paste chicken) from Hong Kong/Southern China, and I won't be surprised if the creator was simply trying to recreate har jeong kei using locally produced belacan (shrimp paste) instead. What do you think?

Despite being quite pungent in it's raw stage; both the taste and smell of belacan are a lot mellower and "sweeter" after a light grilling. I have served this dish to friends who would never go near a block of belacan but can't have enough of these delicious fried chicken marinated with something that repelled them in the first place.

If your friend don't like those shrimp paste, well I do! I love shrimp paste and I find the smell enticing. In some Southeast Asian countries, shrimp paste is used as a dip and an appetizer because the taste is just, well, tasty! Now this match-up, I can't wait for my boyfriend to cook this for me (I don't know how to cook, teehee!)

Thanks for posting this and I can't wait to read your har jeong kei post!

i can't really stand the smell of shrimp paste :P but this chicken doesn't look bad..looks pretty good! but i don't know if my neigbhbours would really appreciate the smell of shrimp paste waffling out of the house hehe